Home Buyer Reports

How do you protect yourself when buying a house?

Buying a house is, for most people, the most expensive purchase they will ever make. With homes costing anywhere between £50,000+ it is important to know you are getting value for your money and don’t get any nasty surprises further down the line once you have moved in.

While no one knows the future, getting a report or survey carried out on the house you are buying enables you to understand better the condition of the property you are purchasing as well as any potential issues (and ultimately costs) you may incur in the future due to repairs.

What Does a Survey/ Report Offer?

Lenders will require you to get a basic condition report although we recommend (especially if buying an older property or planning to do any renovations) that a RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) HomeBuyer Report should be your minimum requirement.

This gives you 4 things…

Insight into whether the house is what you want to buy

Information about what may be ahead and costs

Leverage for negotiations if there is work required

A safety net for the unexpected

Comprehensive Report

If you want a more in depth survey, you can arrange to have a full structural survey carried out. This is the most comprehensive survey available for residential properties. Although it doesn’t involve looking under floorboards on behind walls, it will include the surveyors expert opinion of what may be there. It will also likely include details on repairs needed and may include potential costs which can be useful to leverage against the lender’s valuation to negotiate on price.

If you are buying a new build, you could be forgiven for thinking that you wouldn’t need a survey but a New Build Snagging Survey provides independent expertise on things that need fixed by the developers before you move in.

If you are unsure which report is right for you or need a recommendation of a surveyor, get in touch and we can point you in the right direction.